To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, Leica is offering collectors a limited-edition Leica MP analogue rangefinder camera. The camera is coated in 24-carat gold and encased in Leica Red Box calf leather. Sold only in mainland China, the production run of the golden MP is limited to 60 bodies outfitted with gold-plated Summilux 50mm f1.4 lenses. The serial numbers start with 1949, the year Mao Zedong’s communists seized control of the country. Priced at $199,900 yuan, the golden camera and lens come in a luxury wooden box. Honestly, we have no idea of what Marx, Engels or Mao himself would have thought of something as blatantly bourgeois as a golden camera that costs hundreds of times more than what the average Chinese worker earns in a month, but we have the sinking feeling that they might not have approved of the idea…

Via Engadget

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